Liaisons of a Castaway
by Jhueko
Summary: Continued from the first ten original chapters by Kyuubi no Kitsune. Read the first ten chapters before continuing onto this. ItaSasuNaru.
1. Imformation

Liaisons of a Castaway is continued from the original first ten chapters of the same story, by Kyuubi no Kitsune. The first chapter, and up to her final written chapter, eleven, can be found here: http/ 


	2. Troubles

Previously:

Both Ino and Shikamaru stared at him, dumbfounded.

"...What have you done with him?" Shikamaru glared at him furiously. Sasuke glared back.

"I have done nothing. I was trying to help him escape before Itachi could harm him and got marooned because of it." Sasuke explained.

"You? Helping someone? That's hard to believe." Ino turned up her nose, but Shikamaru couldn't help but look excited.

"So...so we're both trying to find Naruto, right? You must have information on Itachi's actual location, so if we all work together-" Shikamaru was cut off by Zabuza's rumbling voice.

"Well, what do we have here? One of Itachi's hellspawn? My, I do believe you'll fetch a handsome reward sum when we turn you into the Royal Navy." The captain walked toward the trio.

"Wait, Captain Zabuza! He's not-" Shikamaru tried to explain.

"Well, I'll commend you for picking up this little maggot. Maybe you kids aren't so bad after all. Tie him up and we'll have someone turn him in tomorrow."

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Naruto was trembling when he awoke, asleep still in the crow's nest of the ship he already knew was his captor's. How many times had he woken up to find himself on that ship? He'd even grown used to it by now, though it still was hard to accept, even after a few days. Five days? No, six now, he was sure. Almost a whole week.

The blonde shook his head and sighed, moving to his knees and pressing them against the crook of the bucket-like nest while he gazed over the edge, staring out at the endless expanse of sea. When he looked down, he noticed Itachi wasn't there and sighed, figuring since it was so late that the captain of the ship had gone to sleep. It would be easier to escape that way, he quickly decided, nodding to himself.

His eyes went back up, then down again, though not fixated onto the ocean. The waves that lapped against the side of the boat were so slight, silent and thin, that they barely made any noise. It was almost like the water was attempting to lull him back to sleep, but the blondie didn't feel like going back to sleep. He almost felt sick; memories of the older of the two brothers marooning the younger one. And, not knowing how long he had slept and how long the sand bank would have been there, he figured Sasuke was already dead. Thinking it made his eyes suddenly sting, and he found his face burried into his cupped hands, curled up against the side of the crow's nest.

Sniffing for a second, rubbing his wrists and thus the cuffs around his hands against his eyes, he sighed lightly, leaning back slightly and closing his eyes. Both arms resting at his sides, his fists clenched as his gaze moved down, eyes open again, staring at the cuffs around either wrist.

"Naruto-chan," a voice called from below. The name was familiar, but the voice was not. When he looked down, he noticed a tall, slender red-headed man, the tips of that tomato-red hair as white as snow. He smiled, waving up at him. "Come down. The Captain has ordered me to have you cleaned up."

Naruto studdied the strange red-head for a moment, then shook his head, untrusting of the stranger that was obviously one of the crew by the obvious marks burned into his flesh above his right wrist.

"I don't feel like it," he muttered, only loud enough for it to be heard below.

"Come down here, or I'm coming up there!" he threatened, keeping a thin smile present, refusing to become annoyed or agitated.

"Tch... I'm not coming down..." the blonde whispered, crossing his arms over his knees and pulling himself into a tight ball. A few minutes went by, and he figured the man had left, until he heared a sigh below and the footsteps of the other young male, only a couple years older than himself really even if a foot taller, then heard the ropes moving around a bit.

Looking over the edge, he noticed the male was climbing up. He rolled his eyes and leaned back again in a tight little ball, refusing to budge just because of the man's persistant nature.

It only took the red-head a minute to reach the boy in the crow's nest, then peeked over the cut-out where it made it easier to get on and sighed.

"Are you going to come with me or do I have to pull you out and drop you?" And, when the blonde made no comment, he laughed and grabbed the bottom rim of the shirt, pulling it towards him.

Naruto jumped, surprised at the back of the man's cold hands that had slightly touched against his thigh. He tried to grap at something, but in the tiny nest, there was nothing to really grab, and he found himself being dragged out and over the edge. He thought he'd feel the shirt tug to keep him, but the hand had been removed and he was just free-falling straight down.

"I warned you!" the red-head teased, laughing, starting to descend the ropes.

Quickly thinking, or hardly thinking rather, the blonde flailed his arms around, and ended up grabbing at a rope and holding it tightly, arms and legs around it, shivering and trembling.

Below, the man had already gotten down and was right below him, arms open.

"Naruto-chan, come on! Stop making it difficult! I'm not going to do anything to you..."

"Why should I trust you! You just dropped me from like, what, fourty feet in the air!"

"You caught yourself," he noted.

"What if I hadn't?"

"But you did, is the fact,"

Naruto grumbled, shaking his head and sighing. "Who are you and what did you want?"

"I'm Kiayme. Itachi ordered me to get you when you were awake and clean you up. A bath." He stared at him for a second with an untrusting, accusing look.

"Look," he said, after a minute of awkward silence, "I'm not going to do anything to you, if that's what you mean. I'm simply to wash you and your clothes and redress you."

He grumbled again, then sighed. He hadn't had a bath in awhile, and it'd be welcomed, he guessed. If the man tried anything, he could always just thump him in the face or kick his knee--the man was very thin, too thin to be a real pirate it seemed, so he wondered what the man's job had to be. Didn't seem to have any muscle tone at all. He slowly crept down the ropes, then realized his shirt was pulled up a bit, and it was still just as exposing as when he'd climbed down the tree not long before with Itachi under him. He quickly looked down, but Kiayme must have already noticed, and was looking down at the ground. He slid down the rest, nearly giving himself rope burn, then pressed down the edge of the shirt with his hands, his face turning a light pinkish shade.

"Now, then, this way--please come with me." He held out his hand, smiling at the blonde.

Staring at the hand cautiously for a second, then he slid his hand inside the slightly larger one, and was soon following the man, staring at the floor.

It only took them a couple minutes to walk into a hallway and down into a small room with a thick, tempered glass door, the room not smelling at all as bad as the rest of the ship. It actually smelt really nice, and good, and sweet.

"Strip naked and put your clothes in the small wooden bucket then sit in the empty tub right next to the filled one." the red-head instructed, pulling up the long sleeves of his white shirt and tieing them with some sort of string so that they stayed up. He moved over to a shelf of assorted bottles, a few a light-blue shade, a few orange, a few blue.

Quickly, knowing better than to dispute against the man, quickly stripped down the shirt, bandana and cuffs, unable to get the metal collar around his neck off, and carefully walked over to the foot-deep tub, sitting down in it and bringing his knees to his chest as he pressed his chin against his knee.

"Now, most of this is only perfume-based scents, and won't clean you that well, because I had to make them all myself this time, but they should work alright. You've gotten really dirty in only a few days, Naruto-chan."

"Most pirates, I've noticed, seem not to bathe and collect their stink over months..."

"Ah, yes, but you're special. Since you're a sex slave and all, you get one a week or at Itachi's will. So, you shouldn't get stinky ever. You'll always smell alright, especially after baths." He grinned, grabbing an orange bottle, a pink one, and a blue one; one of each color.

"What are all those, anyway?" he asked lightly, the blonde, staring over his shoulder at the bottles.

"Each is for something different. The orange one is to wash all the dirt and stuff off your hair and body. The blue one is for your hair, to make it really shiny and smooth and smell good, and the pink one is for your skin, after the bath and after you're dry, before you're to get dressed. It goes on your skin and makes it really smooth. There's a green one and purple one near you. Those two are for your clothes. Purple to clean, green to make it smell good."

"You actually remember all that?" The blonde arched an eyebrow, shivering a bit. It was pretty chilly in the room, despite being next to a large tub of water, which he'd presumed to be warm.

"Only a few things; not that hard." Smiling, the man set the small bottles next to the two nearby Naruto, which happened to be in a tiny bucket with steaming water on the bottom. "Alright, you're going to hate this, but the water's going to be really cold... And, hold on, let me get that collar off you."

"I don't like cold water," the captive complained, glaring off into the distance. He saw a large, open window, that lead to smaller ships--life rafts, he guessed--and would have attempted escaping. Only, now that he was naked, he wasn't sure that was such a good idea. It had been extremely cold outside.

The man pulled a key from the inside pocket of a satchel on his belt, played around with it inside the hole on the collar, and popped it out, pulling the collar with it. "But it'll have to go back on afterwards."

"I know," he muttered distastefully.

"Stay still,"

"I know!"

Frowning a bit, Kiayme walked over to the large tub of cold water, which was twice the size of the tub Naruto was in mostly, only one side was a bit smaller than Naruto's side there so that it could easier be poured into the smaller tub. He pressed against the edge, and it started tipping over, pouring the icy-cold water over onto Naruto's head and down his body.

The blonde yelped and jumped up, falling over and stumbling backwards, hugging himself and twitching, staring frightfully at the bucket.

"Get back in. You don't really have a choice in this..." He sighed.

"I know! But it's so cold!"

"You'll have some warm water before this is over to warm you up a bit. Sit back down."

Not really sure, but knowing that he didn't want to invoke the wrath of the guy who had hot water stashed somewhere away, he cautiously made his way back to the smaller bucket and sat down, shivering badly at the touch of the cold water against his body. He hesitated though, again, and when he didn't completly sit in, the red-head pushed down against his shoulder, forcing him further down into the water which was halfway filling the tub now. The larger tub--easy to turn because it was held up about an inch from some sort of thing holding it up--was back up straight, not disposing of any more water into the smaller tub which Naruto occupied.

Biting into his lower lip lightly, the blonde, still shivering, whimpered, hugging himself tightly.

Kiayme grabbed the orange bottle, pulling off the cork top and pressing his smallest finger into the top, which fit snuggly, and shook it gently. It had grown quite warm in the hot water, and was very thin and liquidy. Removing his finger, he then moved the finger back over the top halfway, so that the contents would gradually come out. He held it, upside-down, over the blondes head, until there was a small pile of a thick orange mush on the blonde's head. He set the bottle down, recorked it, and pressed his fingertips onto the boy's head, massaging his scalp.

"Stay still and keep your eyes closed, because if any of this stuff gets in your eyes, it'll be a pain getting it out, and it lathers thickly, and hurts really bad." the man informed.

"Fine..."

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"Master Zabuza--"

"What is it?" the man interrupted quickly, gazing over his shoulder at the shorter male.

"S-Sasuke, yes, Itachi's younger sibling, b-but you did agree to assist them in finding Naruto... And he... might know where he is."

"Its been a week. Go get a nice bath and come to bed. I'm in no mood to talk of this." He turned back, showing he wasn't going to go back on his word, and walked away quickly, leaving Ino, Shikamaru and Sasuke standing there, along with Haku, though he was slowly, hesitantly, trailing after his master.

Sasuke stared down at his feet, not saying a word. He was still standing, and just sighed, leaning back against the railing, fingering the rope, feeling stupid of having tossed the gun away.

Shikamaru looked back over at the brother of the infamous captain, inspecting him carefully.

Feeling the eyes upon him, Sasuke looked up, over at Shikamaru. "What?"

"I don't trust that you didn't do anything to Naruto..." he accused, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Fine, don't believe it." he said, annoyed. "I did nothing to him other than try to help him." Though, he was lying. He had tried a few stunts before, and there was always that dream of his, that fantasy he kept remembering occasionally when he grew to miss Naruto's presence.

"Tch..." He rolled his eyes, then looked over at Ino, frowning. "So, what do we do?"

She sighed, looking down at her feet, then walked over to the mast, loosening the rope. "There's nothing we can do of now. We'll have to tie him up. If you'll be as kind as to not to argue..." She slowly looked over to Sasuke, who'd already started towards her. He stared at her for a second, then rolled his eyes, closing them. She pressed his body agaisnt the mast, working the ropes until they secured him to it.

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke. "He knows something, though... We can't just let Zabuza take him away when he can help us rescue Naruto..." He frowned deeply, then turned around, leaning his stomach over the side of the ship, his stomach hurting and annoyed again at the boat's moving. He had a bad taste on his tongue when he looked back up, his stomach feeling empty for the millionth time today. He sighed. This wasn't helping at all.

Ino just stayed quiet for awhile, then stared at Sasuke, frowning. "Why don't you tell me everything you know, and that'll just make it easier? I'm sorry for Zabuza's order, but... I can't help that..."

"I don't know anything else but that they were headed in that--" he nodded his head towards an eastern direction--"direction. Naruto's always trying to escape, and I don't know how much longer Itachi will put up with it. I don't know if he believes Naruto's innocence is really worth the trouble."

"Innocence?" Shikamaru repeated, arching an eyebrow quickly when his head jerked back to stare with annoyance at Sasuke. "What the hell is that supposed to mean!"

Sasuke stared at Shikamaru for a second, then sighed, closing his eyes, then turning his head to the side and opening his eyes again, avoiding eye contact. "Tch, you wouldn't understand, I'm sure."

"If--"

Ino interrupted. "Quit it, you two... Look, Sasuke... Whatever you were really meaning by that, forget it for right now. There's no way for us to head in that direction, because this ship is going in the opposite direction... And the Captain won't agree to it, I'm sure."

"Tch... What am I supposed to do about that?" he muttered distastefully, annoyed at his position of helplessness, the inability to help Naruto, save him from his brother. The things Itachi could have been doing ran over and over like a broken visual record in his mind, which hurt, cutting his brain and heart deeply.

"I'm just saying... Tonight, I'll look around, and if everyone's asleep but us, we'll take the life boat... Alright?" She smiled at him, and he just shrugged, still plagued by the thought of his brother corrupting his Naruto. Unintentionally, a light growl escaped from his throat.

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1

The feminine male sighed, a thin towel stuck between his hands and his hair, wringing its length with the aid of the cloth. It was pretty much completely dry, but it still felt like it had a tiny bit of dampness to it.

Quickly shrugging it off, he set the small towel down, grabbing the brush and quickly gliding it through his length of black hair, before taking a white cloth and tying up his hair with it, one part slightly in a bun to keep it from trailing along the floor when he walked. He pressed two needle-like, long pings through his hair, through the middle of the bun-holding cloth, and looked in a nearby piece of a shattered mirror, holding it with slender, pale hands, inspecting himself. His skin was soft and smooth from the bath he'd just had ten minutes previous, and his hair had a very sweet, perfume scent to it from the soaps. He gave a soft smile, setting the fragment of a mirror down and working on his clothing.

With those slender fingers, he picked up a thin, practically see-through white under-cloth which was like a kimono, only going under the regular kimono. A very fine silk was what it was composed of, soft and delicate to the touch. He slid his arms through the sleeves, straightening it out before moving forward to the second part of the outfit. When his fingers reached down onto the small oak table, they gently picked up his thin, silk kimono, which's edges were a navy blue color, while the main parts were white with navy trimming and a robe-sash-thin, navy sash. He carefully slid into that, tieing the sash perfectly, and making sure all of his hair was over the kimono and still neat. His feet carefully slid into teakwood, inch-high Japanese sandals, the single white strap to go between his two first toes.

Looking over himself in the mirror and with his own eyes, inspecting himself, he looked for anything that might even be slightly out of place, before setting down the glass fragment and padding over to the door, opening it lightly and closing it in the same manner silently.

In the rooms that lined the hallway he walked along, he could hear the rest of the grew talking amongst each other or two themselves, getting drunk and having a fun time. At the end of the hallway, when he came to it, he carefully treaded up the spiraling staircase to a single, short hall, with only one door off to his left. When he got to it, he raised a fist to the door, knocking with the small knuckles on the back of his hand.

"Its open," a tired-sounding voice called, seeming to be stifling a yawn as the male said it.

His fingers graced the handle, wrapped around it, and moved it to the right, pushing open the door. His footsteps were light against the wooden floor as he entered the fair-sized room, which was the size of two of the regular crew's, closing the door behind him.

His soft-brown eyes stared at the strong man who was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with half-open eyes, though not squinting. The younger male carefully walked over to him, sitting on the edge of the bed and running a thin finger over his shoulder and down his chest.

"Feeling alright, Master?" his weak voice asked slowly, frowning.

"Mm... My neck hurts."

"I'll give you a massage," he offered, smiling at his master and moving to a position that he could give the said treatment to his captain, urging him cautiously up with one of those slender hands.

The larger male sat up, murmuring a gruff 'whatever' and facing his back to the boy, who's hands touched his shoulders, gently rubbing them and massaging them with his palms at the tips of his fingers. He moved his hands down along the man's bare back, along his spine and sides, back up to his shoulders, gently right under his neck. Ten minutes passed before the older, bigger male stopped him, quickly moving around to face the younger one.

"Haku..."

The boy's face gave a slightly surprised look. "Yes, master?"

His strong, right hand moved up, touching the boy's cheek and sliding his thumb over the pale, perfect features. 'No matter how many times we sleep together... he always has that innocence to him,' the man concluded in his mind, his eyes gazing deep into that of the other's.

The young boy blinked. "Something wrong?"

"Ah, no... Not at all." He leaned forward, pressing his lips against the other's, as well as his strong, toned body against the thin, beauty-refined one. Haku, who was barely taken surprise by this any longer, didn't resist at all, but leaned forward, one hand pressed against his master's chest. His feet, still both hanging slightly off the edge, moved a bit, the sandals falling easily off as his legs wrapped around one of the man's.

Zabuza's left hand reached down, pulling off the sash and barely taking the time to toss it aside before moving his hand under both the kimono and the under cloth, sliding his hand along the boy's silky flesh and using his wrist to push aside the two cloths on the boy's body.

Meshing their bodies together, he moved his kissed down the boy's cheek, along his jaw line for a few kisses, then down the other's throat and onto his collar bone, left hand suddenly going up to remove whatever held Haku's hair up and tossing the cloth and two pins randomly to the rest of his room.

"Haku?"

"Y-yes?" the boy asked, through a heavy breath, tongue rolling over his lips.

"Let me see your wrists."

Obediently, the boy lifted his wrists, which around both was a leather cuff. Zabuza sighed, then, with his left hand--as his right was still cradling Haku's cheek--he pulled the two cuffs off, also tossing them aside. He didn't look up at Haku, though, but his grip on the boy's face loosened.

Haku stared at him, not really sure what to do, then smiled, staring at Zabuza.

"M-... Zabuza..." He shook his head, then closed his eyes, raising his left hand and pressing the other's loose right hand against his face again. "You're not stopping so early, are you?"

He looked up, seeing a slightly lustful look placed inside the innocent eyes. He smirked, and shook his head.

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1 Meiw. I couldn't resist writing something about Haku and Zabuza. I just couldn't, I swear!

Narumi-chan made me do it!

Whoo. Awesome. And, erm, if anyone thinks it is long, I don't care? I write everything really long. So, if you will--deal with it. But this feels a bit different than the things I usually write... Meh. Probably because I'm doing it based on a discontinued story of someone else, so now that I'm finishing it up 'cause I asked and such, it is a bit different. I've only continued one person's story before, and that was when I was young and into quizilla stories.

So, erm, do whatever. Like I care. I'll do more later. I'm a fast typist, so I'll probably end up getting a few chapters done a week. Maybe. Depends how much time I devote to this.

Whoo. Randomthings. Awesome.

Shiibi.

I'll disappear now.


	3. Salvation

Previously:

"Innocence?" Shikamaru repeated, arching an eyebrow quickly when his head jerked back to stare with annoyance at Sasuke. "What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean!"

Sasuke stared at Shikamaru for a second, then sighed, closing his eyes, then turning his head to the side and opening his eyes again, avoiding eye contact. "Tch, _you_ wouldn't understand, I'm sure."

"If--"

Ino interrupted. "Quit it, you two... Look, Sasuke... Whatever you were really meaning by that, forget it for right now. There's no way for us to head in that direction, because this ship is going in the opposite direction... And the Captain won't agree to it, I'm sure."

"Tch... What am I supposed to do about that?" he muttered distastefully, annoyed at his position of helplessness, the inability to help Naruto, save him from his brother. The things Itachi could have been doing ran over and over like a broken visual record in his mind, which hurt, cutting his brain and heart deeply.

"I'm just saying... Tonight, I'll look around, and if everyone's asleep but us, we'll take the life boat... Alright?" She smiled at him, and he just shrugged, still plagued by the thought of his brother corrupting his Naruto. Unintentionally, a light growl escaped from his throat.

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"Hey, wake up,"

"Mhr..."

"Sasuke, wake up!"

"Mhr!" The black-haired boy tossed his head to the side, biting at the girl's hand that was slapping his cheek.

Ino, giving a light growl, sent her knee up into Sasuke's stomach. "Wake up or we're not going to go save Naruto!"

The onyx eyes shot open, glaring hatefully at the pale, charcoal blue color of the woman's eyes. Behind her, Shikamaru was standing, a backpack on his back, seated on the railing of the side of the ship. He tried to move, to slap or punch her for even threatening that, but his body found itself immobile. It didn't take him long, upon inspecting his surroundings, to notice that he was still on the ship that had saved him from drowning, after being marooned, only to have the captain say that they were going to take him to the Royal Navy and collect his bounty.

"Stay still," the female ordered, pulling out a short, five-inch-long dagger from under her belt and working it on the ropes. Only one cut was needed, and the rest quickly came loose, falling around the Uchiha's body. "Now, stay quiet and follow me; Zabuza and the crew are still asleep except the watch, and he's down below. And hurry up."

Not really needing to be told, Sasuke followed her to near Shikamaru, watched her and the annoyed-looking other male climb into the life boat, before stepping one foot over the edge and starting to climb in as well. Just as he did, he heard a loud, aggravated yell from behind him.

"That Sasuke is getting away! All hands, all hands!" the man screamed at the top of his lungs, ringing a loud, large bell above his head that he'd held at his side in a belt.

"Damn it, hurry up!" Ino grabbed Sasuke's arm, pulling him, and snapped the rope holding up the boat with her knife, Shikamaru snapping the other with his own similar one. The boat fell, and, with a splash, plunged into the water with such force that one of the oars nearly split in half. Luckily, it only cracked.

Shikamaru took up the two oars, moving so he was in the middle of the boat and pushing Sasuke to the front, grabbing the rough wood and paddling with a circular motion, hoping to be quick enough so that the others couldn't follow. It was the only life boat, so as far as that, they were safe.

They hadn't expected cannons, though, so when they saw the black, shining object suddenly come from behind some wooden, sliding panel, it urged the usually-lazy Shikamaru to row faster, his arms starting to hurt as he did so. Sasuke just stared at the black cannon, which reflected off the pale morning sunlight over the horizon, and at the large orb that was shot at them. It missed, but barely; it splashed into the water so close that the three escaping got damp from the spraying drops of water.

"Damn it Shikamaru, row faster!" Ino urged, grabbing one of the oars that seemed to be harder to paddle than the other, helping him row it. Sasuke was just caught staring at a second sphere-shaped cannonball that was flying towards them. It landed mere inches away, drenching the three once again in the salty seawater.

They'd gotten pretty far away, actually, since there was no wind to lead the larger ship's sails to catch up with them. Though they weren't out of firing range.

The third cannonball was launched, and right as Sasuke's onyx eyes stared into it, he was sure he could see something. It hit the front of the boat too quickly, though, a hole being left where it struck through. Inside, the three were watching all around them, noticing they'd been being circled for a few seconds by large, rough, battle-scarred dorsal fins.

---------------------------------------------

"Move to your knees now, Naruto-chan,"

Taking a deep breath through his knees, eyes closed as they had been for nearly an hour now, the blonde moved to his knees, so that he was straight up. He prepared for another wave of the icy water before it came pouring down onto his body, pushing off all the suds and soap that had been used. He stood up when he was told to, stepping out of the bucket. All of the floor around them was wet, but the wood was absorbing any of the water it needed to, since the many cracks that led down to the room below drained a bit. He wondered where it lead. Probably to the bilge.

He felt a soft towel wrap around one arm, and he extended it, letting the man dry his arm, then his other, then each leg, then his upper and lower body in turn, then his hair. Kiayme took another of the warmed bottles, squirting some of the contents into his hand, rubbing his hands together lightly and starting to massage the thick, lotion-like substance into the boy's hair. Soon finishing, he continued with another of the substances, but on the boy's body.

Shivering, Naruto opened his eyes now, allowing them to adjust to the light of the room. Though, that being dim due to the room only being lit with candles, it didn't take long and it wasn't as painful as if adjusting to the bright sunlight.

"Alright, all done, Naruto-chan,"

"..."

"Not talkative?" No reply from the blonde. "Oh, well that's fine, too, I suppose. Your clothes are washed... Here." He picked up the white, mid-thigh-length shirt, holding it out to Naruto. "I won't dress you, though..."

"I know," he muttered, taking it and sliding into the skimpy excuse for an outfit. He was then handed the cuffs, which he slid around each wrist, then the sash and bandana. Once each of the said articles had been put back onto his body and back into place, the older male took the metal collar, locking it around Naruto's neck, and patted his shoulder lightly.

"There, all better, don't you say?"

"Whatever," He'd lost any energy he might have had for a chance of escaping. Though he'd felt dirty and grimy before the bath, he felt more so now, having guessed during his being bathed by the strange, un-pirate-like man what he was being cleaned for with hints from Kiayme. He'd have gladly skipped the bath to skip having to know, and do, what he was going to experience that night. He shook his head.

"This way, come on and hurry up! I have to take you to Itachi's now, so don't get all annoying on me now..." Kiayme, grabbing the boy's wrist, pulled him towards the door, pushed him out, and closed it behind the two of them before starting to lead him off to the stairs that lead to the captain's chambers, which were next to the captain's brother's. Even while they walked past the door with Sasuke's name engraved into it, Naruto felt his heart flutter and his lips curl into even more of a depressed frown, however possible that was.

Kiayme's hand knocked on the door that was mere feet away from Sasuke's, then took a step back, releasing Naruto's wrist. Naruto's mind was racing to find a way out of this ordeal, and when he felt the lack of pressure around the base of his hand, his mind just lapsed on him, and he barely could tell what he was doing. He just knew he had to try to get out of there. Even if he'd tried and failed before.

His feet were the first to work. He swung back, landing a kick on the side of the slender man's head. Kiayme, not guessing this would happen, didn't get the chance to dodge, and, luckily, Itachi was taking his time getting to his door for whatever reason.

He headed for the spiraling staircase in a hasty sprint, chest heaving up and down with the occasional breath he could get as he continued running frantically up the stairs. Finding himself on the deck, he quickly got himself to where a life boat was hauled up, and untied both knots holding it up. As it was falling, he pressed his hand to the rail of the ship, flinging himself over. He landed on the life boat as it landed on the water, but even though he knew he'd sprained his ankle, or messed it up one way or another, he ignored it, grabbing the two oars on either side of him. He was out of breath, especially from the stairs, and his hands stung slightly because of the itchy rope that had been used, but he clung to the oars and rowed mindlessly in any direction.

By the time Itachi got what had happened by Kiayme, and was on deck, Naruto was too far away to be caught up to, plus the wind wasn't present. He growled, pissed off at himself for letting this happened, then ordered the man he'd put in charge of bathing to wake seven men to bring up another life raft and chase after the blonde as quick as possible.

Naruto, far enough out now to be out of eyesight due to the cover of the barely-morning darkness, sighed, slowing down his rowing pace and looking down at his left ankle. It was a bloody mess, quite literally. He'd landed with such force that he'd actually cracked one of his bones in his ankle, and part had actually shot up and pierced through his skin on the outside. He shuddered as he stared at it, then, with his right hand, tried to push it back in, but even when he simply touched it he felt pain surging through his whole leg, making him withdraw his hand.

Shaking, he stared around, searching for any sign of anywhere he could go. He was surrounded in all directions by water, however, and to one direction, the golden orb of the sun starting to rise, painting the navy-colored water a shade that reflected its liquid gold shade. And even with the pain that jolted through his left leg, he couldn't help admiring the beautiful shades of color that the sun kissed, giving little ripples. He didn't know how long he stared at them, though he did, eventually, loose consciousness, laying in the bottom of that life boat.

-------------------------------------------------

"He's out cold," the familiar voice of the annoyed Shikamaru said, staring over at Ino as she tried to rouse the young Uchiha from his sleep-like state.

"I know, but he's hurt and we shouldn't just leave him asleep like that..." She sighed, shaking her head, closing her eyes, then reopening them, staring down at the boy's head. She held a damp cloth to his forehead, which pressed against a spot that had been cut pretty badly by a piece of split wood. The cloth was pretty red by now, collecting a lot of the blood that streamed from the injury along the male's cheek.

Sasuke's eyes twitched, slowly opening, to stare at a dark, gray sky of clouds looming above them. Ino bent over him, hiding some of the clouds behind her head, looking down at him. He pushed her away, slowly sitting up.

"At least you're awake. It's been a few hours... We got away from Zabuza's ship, at least..."

Looking around, the male tried to evaluate their situation as his memory flooded back to him; the events of the morning, the cannon firing and coming straight at them... Naruto.

"Where are we?" he asked suddenly, glaring up at the blonde-haired girl.

"I don't know... When I woke up, Shikamaru and you were still out and we were on a sandy beach not very far from here... I don't know how we're all okay, because all the waters are surrounded by sharks and piranha and such fish... We were just extremely lucky, somehow..."

He smirked. Luck or stupidity? Like his nearly shooting himself, then finding he forgot to load the gun? Maybe they'd been unconscious before they thought they had been, and the cannonball never hit. He shook his head, confusing himself; it was illogical.

"The beach is over there," she said, nodding her head to the East. "How are you feeling? Your head?"

"Alright, I suppose..." He stood up, shaking his head, then started for the beach. Ino got up to follow him, but he just told her he wanted to be alone, and she sat back down, frowning after him.

It didn't take him long, either, to reach his destination. He found a large rock, which was in the middle of the beach by itself, and pulled himself up on it, crossing his legs and staring out at the endless expanse of water. It was so dark out, it was hard to tell what time it was, and the sky threatened to open up and saturate him with the annoying, constant droplets. His eyes were only half open, though he refused to squint them. His head still throbbed, but he ignored it, thinking of his blonde companion that was at the complete mercy of his elder brother. He didn't even know if the boy was alive anymore or not... And this island seemed uninhabited, so his-along with the two others back in the forest-situation wasn't exactly the most favorable.

Slowly, a sigh escaped his parting lips, as his damp tongue trailed over them, moistening them. It didn't help at all.

His eyes widened a bit when he saw something small out in the distance. It was too far off to really see that well, as in any details, but he knew he saw something, and it was getting a bit closer. He jumped off the rock, his bare feet making imprints in the soft, tan sand below, and walked a few feet forward so that the tide gently pushed against his ankles. As it got closer, he could see a faint outline of a person, and a mess of blonde hair. Familiar blonde hair.

"Naruto!"

From barely a hundred yards back into the forest, the yell from Sasuke could be heard, rousing the two who were in barely something of a conversation. Both stood, not having to second-guess their own ears, sprinting towards the Uchiha, who had already dove out into the dangerous, churning navy waters and was swimming towards the small life boat.

"That idiot," Ino muttered, watching out as the black-haired boy caught up to the tiny ship and pulled himself in. "These waters are dangerous!" Though, she sighed, frowning deeper when Shikamaru suddenly tore off his shirt and kicked his sandals from his feet, swimming also into the water. She shook her head. "Those idiots..."

Quickly, Sasuke was rowing towards the sandy beach, but when Shikamaru pulled himself in, he forced the oar handles into his hands instead, holding the young blonde's head on his lap. Onyx eyes inspecting over the boy, he noticed that the blonde had quite a nice, interesting smell to him, though that was quickly put out of his mind when he saw Naruto's ankle.

Shikamaru sensed the unease in Sasuke's sudden, tiny, annoyed gasp, and saw what the Uchiha also saw. His eyes furrowed in an angry glare, ready to kill whoever did this to the blonde, but continued rowing despite himself. When he pulled up to the shore, Ino helped the two males gently pull Naruto from the boat and set him in the sand. She looked at Sasuke's right ankle, a strange look on her eyes.

He looked up at her. "What!"

"There's... something on your ankle..." she said, pointing. He looked down, seeing a small, toothy fish latched onto a piece of his skin and flailing around helplessly. He growled, using two fingers to pull apart the bony fish's teeth and threw it back into the depths of the water.

The female's eyes traveled to the wound on the blonde's ankle, and she barely could contain a tiny gasp. It wasn't that she hadn't seen any worse before; she'd seen far, far worse. Only, it was surprising that when she looked closely, she could tell it was actually a part of the boy's ankle's bone. Sasuke and Shikamaru were more surprised and aggravated that it was Naruto who was injured to care what the injury was, but just that he was even hurt at all.

"Damn it, wake up Naruto..." Shikamaru muttered, lightly patting the blonde's right cheek with his palm. Ino had pulled out some bandages from a backpack that was on her back, though it was tattered and badly ripped, and a wonder how anything was still inside it, and was working on fixing up the injury. As she pressed pretty hard against it, in some sort of attempt to force the bone back into the young blonde's flesh, Naruto screamed, face distorting in a painful wince. His eyes opened in slithers, a bead of tear in each corner of each of his eyes.

"Naruto..." Sasuke looked down at him, frowning. The blonde looked up, smiling a bit, then looked over to his right, where Shikamaru was, a worried-to-death look crossing his features. The blonde's eyes widened a bit, letting the tiny tears slide from his face, and lunged at the usually-lazy male, clinging around his waist tightly. His foot moved, too, and hit a rock rather hard, making him wince and scream again out in pain.

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he gently touched the boy's shoulder, stroking it lightly, before looking over to the ankle that had started bleeding again. He couldn't stare at it anymore, so he looked back to Naruto, only to get a tight hug himself around his waist. He couldn't help a slightly surprised look.

"Sasuke! But... didn't Itachi...?"

He looked down at the blonde. "Don't worry about that now, alright? I don't even think we know how we're going to treat that injury... What happened? And how did you get away from my brother?" He suddenly looked a bit angry. "Did he do anything to you? Are you alright?"

"Let him get some rest," Shikamaru interjected before the Uchiha could ask any more questions.

Naruto, though, just shook his head, wincing as Ino tried to keep the boy's ankle still and find a way to fix it. "He didn't... I got away on that life raft and when I landed on it, when escaping... I don't know how that happened..." He winced, biting lightly into his bottom lip from the pain of the injury that now surged as before throughout his leg. Sasuke's hand gently touched his head, stroking back some of the boy's messy bangs.

"Go to sleep now, okay? We'll do something about it, and while you're here... Itachi can't get to you."

Trusting Sasuke's word completely on that, the blonde-haired male nodded, closing his eyes lightly, grip loosening from Sasuke's waist as darkness overtook his mind.


	4. Final Escape

"Hey, wake up,"

"Mhr..."

"Sasuke, wake up!"

"Mhr!" The black-haired boy tossed his head to the side, biting at the girl's hand that was slapping his cheek.

Ino, giving a light growl, sent her knee up into Sasuke's stomach. "Wake up or we're not going to go save Naruto!"

The onyx eyes shot open, glaring hatefully at the pale, charcoal blue color of the woman's eyes. Behind her, Shikamaru was standing, a backpack on his back, seated on the railing of the side of the ship. He tried to move, to slap or punch her for even threatening that, but his body found itself immobile. It didn't take him long, upon inspecting his surroundings, to notice that he was still on the ship that had saved him from drowning, after being marooned, only to have the captain say that they were going to take him to the Royal Navy and collect his bounty.

"Stay still," the female ordered, pulling out a short, five-inch-long dagger from under her belt and working it on the ropes. Only one cut was needed, and the rest quickly came loose, falling around the Uchiha's body. "Now, stay quiet and follow me; Zabuza and the crew are still asleep except the watch, and he's down below. And hurry up."

Not really needing to be told, Sasuke followed her to near Shikamaru, watched her and the annoyed-looking other male climb into the life boat, before stepping one foot over the edge and starting to climb in as well. Just as he did, he heard a loud, aggravated yell from behind him.

"That Sasuke is getting away! All hands, all hands!" the man screamed at the top of his lungs, ringing a loud, large bell above his head that he'd held at his side in a belt.

"Damn it, hurry up!" Ino grabbed Sasuke's arm, pulling him, and snapped the rope holding up the boat with her knife, Shikamaru snapping the other with his own similar one. The boat fell, and, with a splash, plunged into the water with such force that one of the oars nearly split in half. Luckily, it only cracked.

Shikamaru took up the two oars, moving so he was in the middle of the boat and pushing Sasuke to the front, grabbing the rough wood and paddling with a circular motion, hoping to be quick enough so that the others couldn't follow. It was the only life boat, so as far as that, they were safe.

They hadn't expected cannons, though, so when they saw the black, shining object suddenly come from behind some wooden, sliding panel, it urged the usually-lazy Shikamaru to row faster, his arms starting to hurt as he did so. Sasuke just stared at the black cannon, which reflected off the pale morning sunlight over the horizon, and at the large orb that was shot at them. It missed, but barely; it splashed into the water so close that the three escaping got damp from the spraying drops of water.

"Damn it Shikamaru, row faster!" Ino urged, grabbing one of the oars that seemed to be harder to paddle than the other, helping him row it. Sasuke was just caught staring at a second sphere-shaped cannonball that was flying towards them. It landed mere inches away, drenching the three once again in the salty seawater.

They'd gotten pretty far away, actually, since there was no wind to lead the larger ship's sails to catch up with them. Though they weren't out of firing range.

The third cannonball was launched, and right as Sasuke's onyx eyes stared into it, he was sure he could see something. It hit the front of the boat too quickly, though, a hole being left where it struck through. Inside, the three were watching all around them, noticing they'd been being circled for a few seconds by large, rough, battle-scarred dorsal fins.

"Move to your knees now, Naruto-chan,"

Taking a deep breath through his knees, eyes closed as they had been for nearly an hour now, the blonde moved to his knees, so that he was straight up. He prepared for another wave of the icy water before it came pouring down onto his body, pushing off all the suds and soap that had been used. He stood up when he was told to, stepping out of the bucket. All of the floor around them was wet, but the wood was absorbing any of the water it needed to, since the many cracks that led down to the room below drained a bit. He wondered where it lead. Probably to the bilge.

He felt a soft towel wrap around one arm, and he extended it, letting the man dry his arm, then his other, then each leg, then his upper and lower body in turn, then his hair. Kiayme took another of the warmed bottles, squirting some of the contents into his hand, rubbing his hands together lightly and starting to massage the thick, lotion-like substance into the boy's hair. Soon finishing, he continued with another of the substances, but on the boy's body.

Shivering, Naruto opened his eyes now, allowing them to adjust to the light of the room. Though, that being dim due to the room only being lit with candles, it didn't take long and it wasn't as painful as if adjusting to the bright sunlight.

"Alright, all done, Naruto-chan,"

"..."

"Not talkative?" No reply from the blonde. "Oh, well that's fine, too, I suppose. Your clothes are washed... Here." He picked up the white, mid-thigh-length shirt, holding it out to Naruto. "I won't dress you, though..."

"I know," he muttered, taking it and sliding into the skimpy excuse for an outfit. He was then handed the cuffs, which he slid around each wrist, then the sash and bandana. Once each of the said articles had been put back onto his body and back into place, the older male took the metal collar, locking it around Naruto's neck, and patted his shoulder lightly.

"There, all better, don't you say?"

"Whatever," He'd lost any energy he might have had for a chance of escaping. Though he'd felt dirty and grimy before the bath, he felt more so now, having guessed during his being bathed by the strange, un-pirate-like man what he was being cleaned for with hints from Kiayme. He'd have gladly skipped the bath to skip having to know, and do, what he was going to experience that night. He shook his head.

"This way, come on and hurry up! I have to take you to Itachi's now, so don't get all annoying on me now..." Kiayme, grabbing the boy's wrist, pulled him towards the door, pushed him out, and closed it behind the two of them before starting to lead him off to the stairs that lead to the captain's chambers, which were next to the captain's brother's. Even while they walked past the door with Sasuke's name engraved into it, Naruto felt his heart flutter and his lips curl into even more of a depressed frown, however possible that was.

Kiayme's hand knocked on the door that was mere feet away from Sasuke's, then took a step back, releasing Naruto's wrist. Naruto's mind was racing to find a way out of this ordeal, and when he felt the lack of pressure around the base of his hand, his mind just lapsed on him, and he barely could tell what he was doing. He just knew he had to try to get out of there. Even if he'd tried and failed before.

His feet were the first to work. He swung back, landing a kick on the side of the slender man's head. Kiayme, not guessing this would happen, didn't get the chance to dodge, and, luckily, Itachi was taking his time getting to his door for whatever reason.

He headed for the spiraling staircase in a hasty sprint, chest heaving up and down with the occasional breath he could get as he continued running frantically up the stairs. Finding himself on the deck, he quickly got himself to where a life boat was hauled up, and untied both knots holding it up. As it was falling, he pressed his hand to the rail of the ship, flinging himself over. He landed on the life boat as it landed on the water, but even though he knew he'd sprained his ankle, or messed it up one way or another, he ignored it, grabbing the two oars on either side of him. He was out of breath, especially from the stairs, and his hands stung slightly because of the itchy rope that had been used, but he clung to the oars and rowed mindlessly in any direction.

By the time Itachi got what had happened by Kiayme, and was on deck, Naruto was too far away to be caught up to, plus the wind wasn't present. He growled, pissed off at himself for letting this happened, then ordered the man he'd put in charge of bathing to wake seven men to bring up another life raft and chase after the blonde as quick as possible.

Naruto, far enough out now to be out of eyesight due to the cover of the barely-morning darkness, sighed, slowing down his rowing pace and looking down at his left ankle. It was a bloody mess, quite literally. He'd landed with such force that he'd actually cracked one of his bones in his ankle, and part had actually shot up and pierced through his skin on the outside. He shuddered as he stared at it, then, with his right hand, tried to push it back in, but even when he simply touched it he felt pain surging through his whole leg, making him withdraw his hand.

Shaking, he stared around, searching for any sign of anywhere he could go. He was surrounded in all directions by water, however, and to one direction, the golden orb of the sun starting to rise, painting the navy-colored water a shade that reflected its liquid gold shade. And even with the pain that jolted through his left leg, he couldn't help admiring the beautiful shades of color that the sun kissed, giving little ripples. He didn't know how long he stared at them, though he did, eventually, loose consciousness, laying in the bottom of that life boat.

"He's out cold," the familiar voice of the annoyed Shikamaru said, staring over at Ino as she tried to rouse the young Uchiha from his sleep-like state.

"I know, but he's hurt and we shouldn't just leave him asleep like that..." She sighed, shaking her head, closing her eyes, then reopening them, staring down at the boy's head. She held a damp cloth to his forehead, which pressed against a spot that had been cut pretty badly by a piece of split wood. The cloth was pretty red by now, collecting a lot of the blood that streamed from the injury along the male's cheek.

Sasuke's eyes twitched, slowly opening, to stare at a dark, gray sky of clouds looming above them. Ino bent over him, hiding some of the clouds behind her head, looking down at him. He pushed her away, slowly sitting up.

"At least you're awake. It's been a few hours... We got away from Zabuza's ship, at least..."

Looking around, the male tried to evaluate their situation as his memory flooded back to him; the events of the morning, the cannon firing and coming straight at them... Naruto.

"Where are we?" he asked suddenly, glaring up at the blonde-haired girl.

"I don't know... When I woke up, Shikamaru and you were still out and we were on a sandy beach not very far from here... I don't know how we're all okay, because all the waters are surrounded by sharks and piranha and such fish... We were just extremely lucky, somehow..."

He smirked. Luck or stupidity? Like his nearly shooting himself, then finding he forgot to load the gun? Maybe they'd been unconscious before they thought they had been, and the cannonball never hit. He shook his head, confusing himself; it was illogical.

"The beach is over there," she said, nodding her head to the East. "How are you feeling? Your head?"

"Alright, I suppose..." He stood up, shaking his head, then started for the beach. Ino got up to follow him, but he just told her he wanted to be alone, and she sat back down, frowning after him.

It didn't take him long, either, to reach his destination. He found a large rock, which was in the middle of the beach by itself, and pulled himself up on it, crossing his legs and staring out at the endless expanse of water. It was so dark out, it was hard to tell what time it was, and the sky threatened to open up and saturate him with the annoying, constant droplets. His eyes were only half open, though he refused to squint them. His head still throbbed, but he ignored it, thinking of his blonde companion that was at the complete mercy of his elder brother. He didn't even know if the boy was alive anymore or not... And this island seemed uninhabited, so his–along with the two others back in the forest–situation wasn't exactly the most favorable.

Slowly, a sigh escaped his parting lips, as his damp tongue trailed over them, moistening them. It didn't help at all.

His eyes widened a bit when he saw something small out in the distance. It was too far off to really see that well, as in any details, but he knew he saw something, and it was getting a bit closer. He jumped off the rock, his bare feet making imprints in the soft, tan sand below, and walked a few feet forward so that the tide gently pushed against his ankles. As it got closer, he could see a faint outline of a person, and a mess of blonde hair. Familiar blonde hair.

"Naruto!"

From barely a hundred yards back into the forest, the yell from Sasuke could be heard, rousing the two who were in barely something of a conversation. Both stood, not having to second-guess their own ears, sprinting towards the Uchiha, who had already dove out into the dangerous, churning navy waters and was swimming towards the small life boat.

"That idiot," Ino muttered, watching out as the black-haired boy caught up to the tiny ship and pulled himself in. "These waters are dangerous!" Though, she sighed, frowning deeper when Shikamaru suddenly tore off his shirt and kicked his sandals from his feet, swimming also into the water. She shook her head. " i Those /I idiots..."

Quickly, Sasuke was rowing towards the sandy beach, but when Shikamaru pulled himself in, he forced the oar handles into his hands instead, holding the young blonde's head on his lap. Onyx eyes inspecting over the boy, he noticed that the blonde had quite a nice, interesting smell to him, though that was quickly put out of his mind when he saw Naruto's ankle.

Shikamaru sensed the unease in Sasuke's sudden, tiny, annoyed gasp, and saw what the Uchiha also saw. His eyes furrowed in an angry glare, ready to kill whoever did this to the blonde, but continued rowing despite himself. When he pulled up to the shore, Ino helped the two males gently pull Naruto from the boat and set him in the sand. She looked at Sasuke's right ankle, a strange look on her eyes.

He looked up at her. "What!"

"There's... something on your ankle..." she said, pointing. He looked down, seeing a small, toothy fish latched onto a piece of his skin and flailing around helplessly. He growled, using two fingers to pull apart the bony fish's teeth and threw it back into the depths of the water.

The female's eyes traveled to the wound on the blonde's ankle, and she barely could contain a tiny gasp. It wasn't that she hadn't seen any worse before; she'd seen far, far worse. Only, it was surprising that when she looked closely, she could tell it was actually a part of the boy's ankle's bone. Sasuke and Shikamaru were more surprised and aggravated that it was Naruto who was injured to care what the injury was, but just that he was even hurt at all.

"Damn it, wake up Naruto..." Shikamaru muttered, lightly patting the blonde's right cheek with his palm. Ino had pulled out some bandages from a backpack that was on her back, though it was tattered and badly ripped, and a wonder how anything was still inside it, and was working on fixing up the injury. As she pressed pretty hard against it, in some sort of attempt to force the bone back into the young blonde's flesh, Naruto screamed, face distorting in a painful wince. His eyes opened in slithers, a bead of tear in each corner of each of his eyes.

"Naruto..." Sasuke looked down at him, frowning. The blonde looked up, smiling a bit, then looked over to his right, where Shikamaru was, a worried-to-death look crossing his features. The blonde's eyes widened a bit, letting the tiny tears slide from his face, and lunged at the usually-lazy male, clinging around his waist tightly. His foot moved, too, and hit a rock rather hard, making him wince and scream again out in pain.

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he gently touched the boy's shoulder, stroking it lightly, before looking over to the ankle that had started bleeding again. He couldn't stare at it anymore, so he looked back to Naruto, only to get a tight hug himself around his waist. He couldn't help a slightly surprised look.

"Sasuke! But... didn't Itachi...?"

He looked down at the blonde. "Don't worry about that now, alright? I don't even think we know how we're going to treat that injury... What happened? And how did you get away from my brother?" He suddenly looked a bit angry. "Did he do anything to you? Are you alright?"

"Let him get some rest," Shikamaru interjected before the Uchiha could ask any more questions.

Naruto, though, just shook his head, wincing as Ino tried to keep the boy's ankle still and find a way to fix it. "He didn't... I got away on that life raft and when I landed on it, when escaping... I don't know how that happened..." He winced, biting lightly into his bottom lip from the pain of the injury that now surged as before throughout his leg. Sasuke's hand gently touched his head, stroking back some of the boy's messy bangs.

"Go to sleep now, okay? We'll do something about it, and while you're here... Itachi can't get to you."

Trusting Sasuke's word completely on that, the blonde-haired male nodded, closing his eyes lightly, grip loosening from Sasuke's waist as darkness overtook his mind.


	5. Fail and Fall

Previously:

"Sasuke! But... didn't Itachi...?"

He looked down at the blonde. "Don't worry about that now, alright? I don't even think we know how we're going to treat that injury... What happened? And how did you get away from my brother?" He suddenly looked a bit angry. "Did he do anything to you? Are you alright?"

"Let him get some rest," Shikamaru interjected before the Uchiha could ask any more questions.

Naruto, though, just shook his head, wincing as Ino tried to keep the boy's ankle still and find a way to fix it. "He didn't... I got away on that life raft and when I landed on it, when escaping... I don't know how that happened..." He winced, biting lightly into his bottom lip from the pain of the injury that now surged as before throughout his leg. Sasuke's hand gently touched his head, stroking back some of the boy's messy bangs.

"Go to sleep now, okay? We'll do something about it, and while you're here... Itachi can't get to you."

Trusting Sasuke's word completely on that, the blonde-haired male nodded, closing his eyes lightly, grip loosening from Sasuke's waist as darkness overtook his mind.

---------------------------------------

Slowly, the blonde's eyes opened, staring up at a barely-lit stone that was somehow above him and the three around him. His eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness, he perched himself up, though moving hurt a bit, staring around him. A pale-haired girl was sleeping across from–

"Shikamaru!"

"Naruto-chan, be quiet." hissed an annoyed voice. The blonde looked towards familiar, onyx eyes, then smiled a bit, nodding. "How's your ankle feel?"

Naruto looked down at his ankle, seeing there was no longer a bone protruding from his flesh, though a blood-stained bandage was wrapped around his ankle. "Hurts a bit and my foots numb, but otherwise it's okay... But, what happened?"

"A part of your bone came out somehow... We had to break it off. I discouraged the idea of amputating your foot, so that was the only other option. I doubt you'll be able to walk on it, though, for quite awhile."

The younger male shivered, hugging himself and setting up. Sasuke was seated across from him, though the ebony-haired boy stood up, walking next to Naruto and sitting beside him. His eyes held concern as he stared at the bandaged-raped ankle.

"Tired?"

"I just woke up..."

"Heh, that's right..." He shook his head, thinking himself stupid for asking. Outside of the little makeshift cave, the rain was pouring heavily. They were up a foot in the air or so by rocks piled under them so that rain couldn't come in. A fire cracked and sizzled in front of the two awake males and between the female and who considered Naruto his brother.

"How did you escape?" Naruto suddenly asked, staring out at the rain that came in thick sheets.

"Huh?"

"Itachi marooned you... I thought..." His vision shifted down to his ankles, then back up quickly.

"Oh... Those two, the girl's Ino, you know the male. They were on a ship with a captain named Zabuza. They found me, though the captain wanted to turn me into the Royal Navy. Luckily we escaped."

"How did that happen, then?" the blonde questioned, gently using his right hand to move some of Sasuke's hair to the side, revealing a large bruise around a cut that was barely scabbing over.

"Oh, in the escape we got hit with a cannonball and I guess the wood hit me. What I was told."

Sasuke inspected the blonde-haired male, noticing he was still in that skimpy shirt and still had the cuffs on. Giving a such, the Uchiha pulled Naruto onto his lap–to which the other male didn't object–and started messing with the metal collar still around his companion's neck. Eventually, though his hands hurt badly, he got it off, breaking a piece of the lock and threw it to the flames, even knowing that wouldn't do much.

Naruto's head rested against Sasuke's chest as the collar was removed, closing his eyes and just allowing him to do whatever. Soon, he managed to fall back asleep in the comfort the other's arms and body warmth.

---------------------------------------

Birds chirped loudly as the sun rose higher into the air, warming it and kissing the water with its reflection and golden color. Below, four particular figures were preparing to leave the island. Three were actually doing stuff, while one just sat, watching them.

"Alright, get Naruto-chan and we should be set," the Uchiha said, nodding over to Naruto, directing Shikamaru.

"Why do you call him that?" the third male of the group muttered, though his question was inaudible. Walking over to Naruto, he grinned down at him. "You're a bother sometimes."

"Heheh, I know; just help me up." The blonde grinned as Shikamaru put one hand around his shoulder, helping him stand and move towards the small life raft, his body against Naruto's left side that had gotten injured, which was preventing him from walking. Shikamaru set the blonde in the very front, right in front of Sasuke, before sitting behind Ino in the very back. There were two seats on the tiny ship; one connected to the back with no space behind it and one halfway between the back and the middle of the ship, where the oars were placed next to.

Naruto was facing Sasuke, leaning his back against the front of the tiny ship, surprised they could all even fit there. Sasuke, with his legs crossed, rested his blonde friend's injured ankle on one of his legs–and, unaware to that particular blonde friend, getting a rather decent look up that indecent shirt at the same time. Not that he'd ever admit to doing so, since he wanted the blonde's trust now more than ever, and he only looked when he didn't mean to.

Of course.

Shikamaru got back out, tossing his sandals into the bottom of the boat behind Ino and pulling up his pants, pushing the boat into the water before jumping back in, forgetting why he'd forgotten he'd have to do so anyway.

As he sat back down, Ino began rowing, but they found themselves back in sand.

"Oops," Ino said, her face becoming a tiny bit less pale. "I think I rowed the wrong way..."

"Idiot," Shikamaru growled, before repeating what he'd just done. "This time, row the opposite as you just did."

"I know!"

"If you knew, than why didn't you do it the first time?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the two, before glancing back at Naruto, then out to the expanse of sea they were rowing into. On such a small ship without even knowing where they were, even.

A sigh escaped the young man's lips, knowing that this was possibly the stupidest thing he'd ever done of his free will.

------------------------------------------

"Sasuke,"

"Mhr,"

"Damn it... Naruto!"

"Nhr..."

Ino looked at Shikamaru. "Don't you get the feeling they got that from each other?"

"I wouldn't be surprised... Naruto, Sasuke, wake up damn it!" Shikamaru grabbed both of their shoulders, shaking them harshly around. Sasuke had woken up, but Naruto just continued sleeping.

Sasuke, rubbing his head where it'd hit the side of the boat, looked around, noticing that, in front of him, his favorite blonde-haired nuisance was still asleep. He smirked, then looked to his right, where Shikamaru and Ino were... standing?

"Huh?"

"We've reached land."

"Already?"

"Yeah. We circled the island and found out we ended up on Tenet." Shikamaru noted, smirking. "I wound up right back where I started. So did Naruto."

"So, this is Naruto's home island? I remember it well."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know if you'll exactly be welcomed here, though, seeing as your Itachi's younger brother."

"Whatever," He rolled his eyes, then started lightly shaking Naruto. "Naruto-chan, wake up."

Surprisingly, or maybe not, Naruto roused from his sleep easily when Sasuke was the one waking him, and sat up gradually, rubbing his eyes. He noticed that Shikamaru and Ino were standing in golden sand, and looked around at the shore, recognizing it right away. He looked to Sasuke, then to the other two once more.

"So, we're home, Naruto."

"Heh, yeah..." He smiled, then, when he tried to stand, he tipped the small boat over, both him and Sasuke ending up in the water, since he fell due to applying pressure on his injured ankle.

"Gah, damn it," Sasuke complained, pulling himself from under the boat and dragging Naruto with him. "Smart,"

"Sorry," He flinched, though Sasuke just shook his head, looking around.

"Tenet, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go look around, see you guys later!" Ino didn't even wait for a reply before she started off in a sprint.

Shikamaru looked towards his blonde companion. "Ready to get back home?"

Naruto shrugged, staring at the golden sand beneath his feet. "Sure, I guess... I don't know, honestly. Its been..."

"It's only been a week."

"It's felt like longer, though." He carefully stood up, Sasuke helping him to his feet and supporting his left side. "A lot longer, really."

"Naruto,"

The blonde looked at Sasuke, a confused look on his face. "Uh, yes?"

"Do you want to stay here? I don't see a reason why you wouldn't." He was following Shikamaru towards a small, hidden house, that looked more like a hut. Once inside, he laid Naruto down on a small cot, though the blonde sat up, seriously considering it.

Sasuke sat down next to him, Shikamaru on his other side.

"I don't k–"

A loud scream interrupted the blonde's sentence. A cannon was heard out in the distance, then an explosion. Sasuke jumped up, running out the door, recognizing the sound of that particular cannon. Shikamaru told Naruto to wait there–with an angry remark from the blonde saying something about how he was supposed to go anywhere anyway–and sprinted after the Uchiha.

A large ship, and not an unfamiliar one, was stopped a couple hundred feet away from the docks where the rest of the ships were ported, firing cannonballs one after another into the town. Wavering proudly up high in the air, right below a black skull and crossbones flag, was the familiar red flag with the three black marks in a pattern.

"Itachi," The name was spit out like poison from Sasuke's lips, a light growl escaping his throat as he started again towards the ship in a sprint. Shikamaru had thought he'd caught up to the other male, though he noticed Sasuke had kept going after barely stopping, and quickly followed him, not even sure why he was. But he did recognize the flag instantly.

Naruto crawled over to the makeshift door, staring out and noticing the flag. He'd seen it many times in the past week. He then saw Itachi standing there, even from the distance, and pulled himself up. He attempted walking, but a few paces into it make his ankle give out on him. He pulled himself back up regardless, still attempting to continue, though the furthest he got was back to the sandy shore, landing face-first in the sand, and ended up having to spit the gritty, golden quartz and tan crystals from his mouth, a horrible taste lingering on his tongue.

He saw Sasuke and Shikamaru on the docks, too, and saw the large ship slowly rolling towards them with the help of the wind and the water, and could swear he almost feel Sasuke and Itachi's hatred as they stared at once another.

He probably did, because it was present.

Itachi smirked upon seeing his younger brother.

"Ah, Sasuke. I do believe you should be dead."

"An–..." He stopped and shook his head. "Itachi, you can't dispose of me that easily."

"You have Naruto-chan here, I believe... I'm sick of that little boy's nuisance. He's bothersome."

"Then why are you coming to get him?"

"I'm coming to kill him, simply, and get someone else." Itachi glared down at his brother. In one hand, he was holding a beautiful sword–it'd been seen somewhere before. Without warning, Sasuke started running, Itachi following after. The younger was surprised at his elder brother's speed, but not shocked. He noticed a blacksmith's stand not far off, and that it had been abandoned–or, rather, everyone had been killed and the place was in ruins. He saw a sword on the ground and, on instinct, reached down, grabbing the blade and turning around, hand moving swiftly to the hilt, blocking the attack Itachi almost had on him.

"Are you protecting him?"

"That's none of your business, Itachi." The onyx-eyed one sent his foot forward, only to have it grabbed and to have himself pulled up into the air, flung into a tree and, as he was trying to get up, the back of his neck stepped on by his brother.

"So, I'm not your older brother anymore it seems. You are of no use to me. I saw Naruto being brought onto this island. My men are already searching for him..."

"Itachi, you ass... If you do anything to him, I'll kill you!"

"Not that you can carry out that threat, little brother... Look at your position. Under me. Ah, now that brings back very... interesting memories."

Sasuke growled, squirming about, eventually knocking his brother off him with one of his feet. He jumped back up, holding the sword once again.

"Oh? Am I angering you, perhaps?"

He nearly tripped when he ran at his brother, though as he slid, his foot pushed forward, under Itachi's feet, wrapping around one of his legs. Using this to pull his brother closer–though the top of his body went backwards a bit–Sasuke slashed downward at his brother, connecting with the other sword. His one hand moved out, wrapping around Itachi's neck harshly, feinting with his other foot at kicking Itachi's face in. The bottom of his bare foot touched the metal of Itachi's sword, but gave him time to send his sword back at his brother's arm, and it connected perfectly, severing the right limb. He pushed back, kicking himself off his brother, landing on his back in the dirt. His quickly stood up, panting, staring at his brother who was holding his right stump of an arm with his left hand.

Itachi didn't look impressed, though.

"That might become troublesome," the man said lightly, bending down and prying the sword from his disconnected fingers into his left hand.

"You need to die, Itachi," Sasuke growled, tightening the grip on his sword, advancing a pace towards his brother.

"Why is that? Because I wouldn't let you have Naruto-chan? You are greedy, aren't you..."

"Bastard!" Hesitation was a foreign word to Sasuke at that point as he jumped at his brother, sending them both to the ground, both their swords flying elsewhere. Sasuke's left hand was around his brother's throat again, his right in the tightest fist it had ever been in, flinging back and forth into the bloody mess that was, somewhere, Itachi.

"Die, you... fucking... bastard!" he panted, between the seconds it took to send his fist back into his brother's face. His energy was depleting fast, and when he took more than a second to send his fist back into that mess of Itachi, the man's left arm flung up, grabbing his younger brother's shoulder and twisting it in a way that surely dislocated it with a loud cracking noise. He sent his brother back onto the ground with a shove, slowly standing up and rubbing the blood from his face with his sleeve. His nose had been broken, both lips busted–the bottom in at least three spots–and one of his eyelids had been cut by Sasuke's fingernails.

Sasuke was gripping his dislocated shoulder, glaring at his older brother. He jumped back up, racing for his sword, and grabbed it, surprised Itachi hadn't followed to get the other sword that was laying at Sasuke's feet. The onyx-eyed Uchiha kicked the sword back away further, advancing on his brother who still seemed more interested in seeing what else was wrong with his face.

Just as he was about to cut off his brother's head, the older Uchiha took a step to the side, grabbing Sasuke's left wrist and tightening his grip, staring at his brother out of the one eye that stayed open. In Sasuke's eyes, things started looking a bit different. But not in a bad way.

"Sasuke!"

The two brothers suddenly turned from each other, seeing golden-blonde hair. Naruto's cerulean eyes met with two sets of ruby ones. A little gasp came from his lips as he took a step back, supporting himself by a large, overhanging tree.

"That makes it easier, doesn't it, Sasuke?"

"If you–"

"Stop threatening me... You'll die now anyway." Itachi threw Sasuke slightly in the air, slightly away, bent down to grab the sword on the ground, and, the second the other Uchiha's feet hit the ground, he sent the sword at his brother in a straight stabbing motion. Sasuke fell, clutching his bleeding side, though only one arm would work right.

Itachi went over, picking up his sword in the same hand that occupied the first sword, starting for Naruto, who tried to back up more but fell over his own, injured ankle.

"Stay still now,"

Naruto recognized the sword he'd seen around a week ago in one of the shops nearby here.

"Will you come back willingly, or am I just going to have to finally get rid of you?"

Trembling, trying to scoot backwards further, Naruto bit lightly into his bottom lip, his vision shifting between either of the Uchiha brothers. A look of defiance crossed his eyes. "No!" He attempted to jump on Itachi, but he tripped again as he tried to stand up.

"You're agitating me, little boy..." Letting out a light sigh, Itachi walked over to his brother, standing over him. "If I kill you completely, brother, do you think that he'll become more obedient? Well, Sasuke?"

Naruto managed again to shift to his feet, but tripped–luckily, or unluckily, on Itachi, bringing the older brother to the ground. He pressed his knee into the man's back, wrapping both hands as tight as he could around Itachi's throat. Sasuke looked up, seeing the blonde trying to kill his brother. In a similar way he'd tried it. He knew it wasn't going to work.

Naruto's right hand moved, his right foot along with it, pressing all his weight against Itachi's left hand. Itachi's grip on the swords loosened, allowing Naruto to grab them and stumble over to Sasuke, falling again in the process, though next to Sasuke–who'd stood up by that time.

Sasuke's eyes, however, didn't leave his brother, but his right hand flung out, being the only one that would work–Itachi had dislocated his left shoulder–towards Naruto, who smirked, placing the hilt of Itachi's sword in Sasuke's hand.

Itachi just slowly stood up, then stared at them. He smirked. "You can't beat me."

"We're not the ones losing," Naruto growled, glaring at the infamous captain, still instant that staring at one long and hard enough would burn a hole through their head.

"If you believe that," Itachi said slowly, staring calmly at his brother and slave, "then you're a complete moron."

"Asshole," Naruto growled, then looked up at Sasuke.

The younger Uchiha didn't need to be told by Naruto to kill his brother; he already knew that was what he was going to do. He couldn't stand his brother anymore. "Itachi,"

"Hmn? I suppose you have something worthwhile to say?"

"Stop talking and just die," In a sprint, Sasuke ran again at his brother, sword clutched loosely and with an incorrect grip.

Itachi took a couple steps back, dodging the messy slashes. "I taught you better stances, I'm sure."

Sasuke smirked, quickly moving to Itachi's side, slashing downward at his brother's other arm, and not missing. He didn't cut it off, but he practically cut all the skin off of the upper half to the bone, which made the half-limb just as useless.

Itachi stared down at his arm, then sighed, aggravated. "You annoying little,"

"You're no good as a captain without arms, Itachi." Sasuke pointed out, standing behind his brother with the blood-coated sword pointing its tip towards his brother's neck. "Do you surrender?"

"You won't get those words out of me,"

Naruto could barely watch–though he did, and, knew, somewhere inside of him, he enjoyed watching the bloody scene. He saw Sasuke brutally lop off his brother's head, and when the head rolled on the ground, ruby eyes glared intensely at Naruto, before Sasuke picked up his brother's head by the hair and stared his own, now-ruby eyes with Itachi's. Naruto just remembered Sasuke's eyes had resembled Itachi's.

"My brother was no captain," Sasuke stated, sighing, and dropping the head, making a point to step on it as he walked back over to Naruto.

"Sasuke, your eyes...?"

Sasuke closed his eyes, then reopened them. They were still the ruby color, and he could tell; he'd been seeing things slightly different for a few moments now. "I know. It's a family trait."

"That... would explain it."

"Come on... And bring that sword, if you want." Sasuke offered his working hand to Naruto, the sword tucked under his sash, allowing the blonde to use him for support as they walked.

"So, that's really the last of Itachi, right...?"

Sasuke stared over at Naruto as they passed his brother's body, starting for the docks. Sasuke had picked up his brother's head and was dragging it along, though not in Naruto's favor. "Yes."

"Good... Why are you bringing that head of his...?" Naruto shivered.

"My brother's dead, so... Proving he's dead to the crew will be the only way to show he's dead. Since he's dead, and I'm his little brother... Rightfully, now the crew is mine."

"Oh, that makes sense." Naruto managed a faint smile.


	6. Sea, Salt, and Sand

Blonde hair shone in the sunlight that cascaded down from the sun above. Naruto's cerulean eyes matched the color of the ocean, capturing in beams of the spectrum that filled inside of them like in small puddles of content emotion.

A smile played on his lips.

The world was silent save the lulling of the gulls and the sloshing of water to the sand.

The male stuck his hands into the pockets of the dark trousers, the pants a navy in color. His white shirt was complete with navy-blue trim and nearly-black blue cuffs about each wrist; he'd never completely abandoned the fact that he technically was a "slave", but nowadays, neither of them—no one, really—called him that. No one dared to.

The shirt rippled when a faint wind picked up and caressed against his body.

He smiled contently, curling his toes in the sand and closing his eyes.

"Ah… So." He sighed, hearing his words disturb the perfect balance of silence and sound.

A protective arm wrapped around his shoulders.

Naruto leaned his head back against the the other male's shoulder. He didn't have to open his eyes to tell that it was Sasuke; the feel of the other's body familiar and pleasant. Soothing, even.

"It's really peaceful here…"

"Yeah…"

"You like that, huh?"

Naruto opened one eye, grinning. "Sometimes. I've grown accustomed to the scent and taste of sea water, though."

"And the taste of something else," Sasuke mused, smirking.

"Huh?" For a moment, Naruto stared curiously at him, and then frowned, his face turning the pink-red shade of crimson. He pulled away, his hands finding Sasuke's arm. He pushed hard, sending Sasuke stumbling head-first into the lapping, cool water.

Laughing a bit, the Uchiha spit out sand and water that had accidentally caught in his mouth.

"Smartass, come here!" He reached out, groping the blonde and pulling his companion down into the sand. He crawled on top of Naruto, kissing him chastely on the cheek then lustfully in the slightly-scented pocket of flesh at the crook of the base of the blonde's neck. His tongue even traced over a small inch of flesh.

Naruto smiled, stretching his neck slightly to give more room for the Uchiha to kiss, but the ruby-eyed male lifted his head, smiling at the blonde.

_His_ blonde.

_Yes,_ he told himself, _my blonde_. Sasuke kind of liked the sound of that. His.

"Captain!"

Sasuke looked up, staring over his shoulder. Ino stood there, with Shikamaru standing behind her.

"Hurry up! We've spotted an ANBU naval ship about eight miles off on the coast horizon just South of here, approaching fast!"

Smirking, Sasuke stood, helping Naruto up.

"Let's go," he said, starting towards the dock and his ship.

_His_ ship. _His_ crew. _His_ Naruto.

And, soon, he told himself, _his_ sea.

**--End—**

-------

Prepare for a long comment from the temperamental writer…

OMGend. Hah, yay.

But I'm sad. Even though this wasn't originally my story, I fell in love with it instantly like all people who began reading Kyuubi no Kitsune's original chapters. And once I began continuing it for Kyuubi, I fell in love with it even more. I really did enjoy writing this, and now that the story's done, I feel sad. Like an old friend was suddenly gone…

So my obvious solution to this was quite simple: I'm planning a continuation. Still won't be my original characters, but hopefully it'll be a lot better than the crap I've had up so far; in the past-howeverlongit'sbeen—that I began writing this, I dare to say my writing talent has improved. Hopefully I'll be able to continue the next one that should be up within the next **week!!!** with Kyuubi's great storyline put into a sequel. I hope so, because I enjoy writing for my readers.

To those who read my other stories: I'm going to hopefully be updating everything within a week or two with at least two chapters a piece. I'm moving on Friday (into the same apartment building; we're moving two floors up to the forth of five floors and straight across the hallway of our front door) and might not be done and set-up with my computer until Monday or Tuesday. I'll try.

So! That's it! Hope you enjoyed it and hope you appreciate I finished the story! Look for the coming sequel so _cleverly_ going to be titled, 'Liaisons of a Prodigy'… just because I really couldn't think of anything else. There's a chance it may have a name change.

Wow, big comment.


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